How far north. Much further north than 50 deg you would have the best success with autos. Keep in mind that autos are best not transplanted, & most reguire 90 to 100 days to finish regaredless to what the breeder states.
The problem with growing up north outdoors is your photos won't start flowering until your daylength drops below 14hrs. That leaves very little time to finish. Look to grow strains that finish early or autos
I grew ultimate purple a couple of years ago. Massive buds as shown in my avatar along side a 2l coke bottle. Grown outdoors organically in a 5 gallon bucket. Ran out of time with a oct 31st harvest. Needed a couple more weeks. Didn't purple with the cold.
Scott, Don't let a frost or 2 worry you. I'm a little north of you & don't usually harvest until the end of Oct. Pic to the left is Ultimate Purple beside a 2L bottle grown organically. Didn't like & won't grow again.
It depends on the strain. I've had some start flowering in the middle of august, & always by labour day. Once you drop below 14 hours, they could start flowerlng at any time.